Nocturnes

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

FACULTY of MUSIC

100

,YEARS

1918-2018

Nocturnes

U of T Women’s Chorus

Dr. Elaine Choi, conductor
Eunseong Cho, collaborative pianist

U of T Men’s Chorus

Dr. Mark Ramsay, conductor
Kevin Stolz, collaborative pianist

Sunday, October 28, 2018
2:30 pm

Church of the Redeemer, 162 Bloor Street West

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates.
For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat,
the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River.

Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across
Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Program

U of T Women’s Chorus

Dr. Elaine Choi, conductor
Eunseong Cho, collaborative pianist

Alleluia

Stephanie Martin*
(b. 1962)

Beau Soir

Claude Debussy
(1862-1918)
arr. Linda Spevacek
(b. 1945)

Child with the Starry Crayon

Eleanor Daley*
(b. 1955)

Maddy Battista, soprano

Stars

Larysa Kuzmenko*
(b. 1956)

Night

Larysa Kuzmenko

Noche de Lluvia

Sid Robinovitch*
(b. 1942)

Hymn to Vena from

Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (third group)

Gustav Holst
(1874-1934)

Olivia Lu, Lauren Levorson-Wong, Mimi Ye, Ana Isabella Castro, sopranos
Emma Moss, Lucy Cheng, Yelena Gavrilova, Chiki Ogawa, altos
Christina Kant, harp

Canadian Composers

Combined Choir

“Gloria Tibi” from MASS

Leonard Bernstein
(1918-1990)

Angelo Moretti, tenor

“Gloria in excelsis” from MASS

Leonard Bernstein

Qiuchen Wang, percussionist
Eunseong Cho, piano

U of T Men’s Chorus

Dr. Mark Ramsay, conductor
Kevin Stolz, collaborative pianist

The Dying Rebel

Traditional Irish
arr. Mark Sirett*
(b. 1952)

The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard

Benjamin Britten
(1913-1976)

Peace

Stephen Chatman*
(b. 1950)

Mad

Timothy C. Takach
(b. 1978)

Sure On This Shining Night

Samuel Barber
(1910-1981)
arr. Jacob Narverud
(b. 1986)

Combined Choir

Sure On This Shining Night

Morten Lauridsen
(b. 1943)

Kevin Stolz, piano

Program Notes for U of T Women’s Chorus

Canadian composer and conductor Stephanie Martin is associate
professor of music at York University’s School of the Arts, Media,
Performance and Design; director of Schola Magdalena; conductor
emeritus of Pax Christi Chorale; and past director of music at the historic
Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Toronto. Alleluia is a five-part round
that can be performed by any combination of voices and is from a set of
two pieces that also includes “Tantum Ergo.”

Beau Soir (Beautiful Evening) is a French art song, originally scored for
solo voice and piano. In this program, the Women’s Chorus is performing
a choral arrangement by Linda Spevacek. Written by a teenage Claude
Debussy with words by poet Paul Bourget, this piece paints the picture of
a beautiful evening as the sun sets into the rose-coloured river. A sense of
peacefulness is created by long legato phrases, paired with fluid constant
triplets in the piano accompaniment.

Child with the Starry Crayon was commissioned in 2004, as a joint
collaboration between Oriana Women’s Choir and the Toronto District
School Board. Composer Eleanor Daley set music to selected student
poetry (poem by Grade 5 student Dinushi Munasinghe) as part of the
special Poetry and Music Project. Daley plays with textures, alternating
between unison melodic lines and dense three-part harmonies, unfolding
the endless imagination of the one child with the starry crayon. Elaborate
piano accompaniment with rolled chords and arpeggiated movement
creates a sense of awestruck wonder.

We continue the innocence of children’s depiction of night skies with
two short pieces by Canadian composer Larysa Kuzmenko. Stars and
Night are two poems by students from Faywood Public School. Stars is
a light, cheerful piece, depicting the shimmering of the stars. Its energetic
spirit echoes the brightness of children’s voices. The poem Night tells the
story of haunting shadows. Like the atmosphere of the night, the music
is both mysterious and ethereal, depicting the shapes and moods of the
underlying poetry.

Noche de Lluvia (Rainy Night) is the third movement of Canciones por
las Americas by Canadian composer Sid Robinovitch - a set reflecting
different aspects of Latin American culture. Noche de Lluvia uses the
evocative words of Uruguayan poet and feminist Juana de Ibarbourou
(1892-1979), also known as Juana de America. The Latin American
rhythms used throughout create a scene of great sensuality both inside a
bedroom and outside, where the rain is tapping with “little fingers” on the
windowpane.

In the early 20th century, inspired by his Theosophist stepmother, British
composer Gustav Holst developed an immense interest in the religious
literature and poetry of India. The Rig Veda is a set of over 1,000 hymns,
singing praises to higher beings such as Agni, Vena, Indra and so on.
Translated from Sanskrit to English by Holst himself, he has set 14
Rig Veda hymns into four groups of Choral Hymns. The third group,
written in 1910, is a set of four pieces written for women’s chorus with
harp accompaniment. To conclude our set with pieces dedicated to
Night skies, we have chosen to perform Hymn to Vena (The sun rising
through the mist). This work paints the appearance of Vena, the child
of cloud and mist appearing on the ridge of the sky. The elaborate harp
accompaniment helps create a sense of awe and mystical wonder
throughout. Women’s Chorus will be performing the remaining three
hymns from this group at concerts on February 3 and March 31,2019.

As the world comes together to celebrate the centennial of iconic
American composer, conductor, and humanitarian Leonard Bernstein
(1918-2018), we have chosen to include excerpts of MASS in this
program. Unlike a traditional mass setting, this composition is a large
scale theatrical piece scored for singers, players, dancers and more.
Bernstein envisioned MASS not as a concert piece, but rather, an eclectic
staged dramatic performance. MASS incorporates music of many genres
such as blues, rock, gospel, folk, Broadway, and jazz idioms, reflecting
the multifaceted nature of Bernstein’s career. In MASS , “Gloria Tibi” and
“Gloria in Excelsis” follow a reflective orchestral movement, Meditation
No. 1. These two energetic and exuberant movements offer highest praise
and rejoicing to God.

Program notes by Elaine Choi

Program Notes for U of T Men’s Chorus

The Dying Rebel is a traditional Irish folk song that dates from the early
20th century. Cork, located on the southwest coast of the island, is known
as the Rebel County in honour of its long association in the forefront of
many uprisings to overthrow British rule. This poignant ballad recounts the
tragic death of a young rebel from Cork during the famous 1916 Easter
Rising which proclaimed the Irish Republic independent of Britain.

Program note by Mark Sirett

English composer Benjamin Britten wrote The Ballad of Little Musgrave
and Lady Barnard in 1943, the same year of his well-known cantata,
Rejoice in the Lamb. He dedicated the work to ‘Richard Wood and
the musicians of Oflag VIlb,’ a prisoner-of-war camp where the work
was performed several times over the span of two months under the
musical direction of Lieutenant Richard Wood. The text comes from an
anonymous tale of adultery, betrayal, and regret. Britten’s keen attention
to the text comes alive throughout the work in the dialogue of two secret
lovers, the frantic actions of a page boy, and the anger and hurt felt by a
betrayed lover. Today, the work remains as a staple in the tenor/bass choir
repertoire.

Peace, written by Canadian composer Stephen Chatman, was
commissioned by the Cantabile Men’s Chorus of Kingston, Ontario.
Throughout the lyrical work, melodic lines frequently begin in unison and
slowly unfold to four-part harmony throughout each phrase, highlighting
Teasdale’s beautiful poetry.

Mad is a playful and poignant work created by American composer
Timothy C. Takach in 2014. Based on a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, the
song portrays the relationship between mother and child and uses
musical text painting to highlight imagery in the poem. The work was the
result of a commission by the American Choral Directors Association of
Minnesota.

Samuel Barber penned his famous setting of Sure On This Shining
Night (from Four Songs , Op. 13) in 1938 for solo voice and piano as well
as his own arrangement for mixed SATB chorus in the same year. This
arrangement for tenor/bass voices by Jacob Narverud mirrors the lyricism
found in both of Barber’s settings.

Morten Lauridsen composed his setting of James Agee’s poem Sure
On This Shining Night as the third movement in a choral cycle titled
Nocturnes. Lauridsen explains, “I set the verse very much like a song from
the American musical theatre stage and it should be sung in that manner.”
It remains as one of Lauridsen’s most popular works today and is best
described by Norwegian composer, Ola Gjeilo: “A piece like Sure on This
Shining Night , which is my own favorite, has a warm, beautiful melody
with elegantly flowing vocal and piano accompaniment, and it’s both
passionate and peaceful at the same time.”

Program notes by Mark Ramsay

BLOOR ST.
CULTURE
CORRIDOR

The Faculty of Music is a partner of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor
bloorstculturecorridor.com

Biographies

Dr. Elaine Choi contributes to Toronto’s vibrant choral community as a
conductor, educator, adjudicator, and collaborative pianist. She is the
Director of Music at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, President of Choirs
Ontario, and the conductor of the University of Toronto Women’s Chorus.
Elaine holds a B.Mus Ed, M.Mus and DMA in choral conducting from the
University of Toronto where she studied with Dr. Doreen Rao and Dr. Hilary
Apfelstadt. She was a recipient of the Elmer Iseler Fellowship in Choral
Conducting and is the 2018 recipient of the William and Waters graduation
award from the University of Toronto. Elaine has recently founded Babel, an
SATB chamber ensemble with a mission to bridge cultures with choral music
by promoting compositions by Canadian and Chinese composers.

Dr. Mark Ramsay is the artistic director of the Exultate Chamber Singers as
well as the conductor of the University of Toronto Men’s Chorus, the U of T
Scarborough Concert Choir, and the MNjcc Community Choir. In addition to
his conducting work, he is an adjunct professor at the U of T Faculty of Music
where he teaches graduate choral conducting lessons, an undergraduate
course in choral music education, and works as an administrator for the
choral area. He holds a DMA degree in choral conducting from U of T where
he was a student of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. He was a recipient of an Elmer
Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting, and multiple U of T
Fellowships and an Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

Being a versatile musician as an organist, conductor, harpsichordist and
collaborative pianist, Eunseong Cho has contributed her talent to Toronto’s
music community for many years. She graduated from the University of
Toronto with a Master’s degree in organ performance under the tutelage of
Dr. John Tuttle. She studied with Sir Colin Tilney, and was a harpsichordist for
the U of T Early Music Ensemble under the direction of Jeanne Lamon. She
also studied choral conducting with Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. She serves as music
director at The Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church and as collaborative
pianist for U of T Women’s Chamber Choir and Women’s Chorus.

Kevin Stolz is a pianist based in Toronto. Hailing from the mountains of
upstate New York, he completed undergraduate studies in jazz and
contemporary music at Humber College in Toronto, receiving his Bachelor
of Music in 2014. After graduation, Kevin was active in the contemporary
scene, performing with alt-pop band Andi on CBC TV and venues throughout
Ontario and Quebec. He also produced the acclaimed jazz big band album
The Twilight Fall by Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School. Kevin has now
returned to his original passion of classical performance, and he is privileged
to study with Steven Philcox in the Master’s program in collaborative piano at
the University of Toronto.

Personnel

U of T Women’s
Chorus

Dr. Elaine Choi,
conductor
Eunseong Cho,
collaborative pianist
Teresa Lin and Emma
Moss, choir managers

Soprano

Leticia Balogh
Maddy Battista
Ana Isabella Castro
Katharine Chiu
Maria Deng
Amelia Depiero
Wenyuling Ding
Maria Fedyushina
Andrea Franco
Alexa Frankian
Yvonne Gao
Katherine Flo
Tanya Humeniuk
Paige Jeffrey
Lexie Laengert
Kitty Lau

Lauren Levorson-Wong
Teresa Lin
Taylor Lovelace
Olivia Lu
Jodie Ng

Ismene Papadopoulou
Lydia Shan
Diyara Toktamyssova
Julie Wang
Joelle Wong
Jocelyn Yang
Mimi Ye
Cindy Yu
Yuhan Zhang

Alto

Annie Cao
Lucy Cheng
Chanel Chow
Hillary Chu

Rosemonde Desjardins
Yelena Gavrilova
Reina Kwak
Lin Li

Sarah Marchack
Tina Meng
Emma Moss
Emily Ninavaie
Chiki Ogawa
Tessa Prasuhn
Rina Shim
Carina Shum
Rebecca Synard
Emily Tam
Teresa Tang
Reyna Yan
Futian Yao
Sher Yao
Yin Yin
Mia Zheng
Jane Zuchelkowski

U of T Men’s Chorus

Dr. Mark Ramsay,
conductor
Kevin Stolz,
collaborative pianist
Qattani Legroulx,
choir manager

Tenor

Joey Labute
Jeong Wu Lee
Nathan Richards
Ivan Tapel
Jacob Thomas
Kevin Yue

Baritone

Michael Brennan
Gabriel Cordova
Michael Denomme
Crescenzo DiCecco
Thomas Dobrovich
Jeremy Hernandez Lum
Tong

John Krutschke
Kevin Lau
Hinners Leung
Arthur Li
Gordon Mok
Brent Nuevo
Oliver Peart
Mikelis Rogers
Stephen Shi
Evan Tanovich
Ben Yeo

Bass

Jaime Barrow
Ken Chen

Benjamin Fitzpatrick
Franciz Gonzales
Qattani Legroulx
Luciano Maizel
Stephane Martin
Demers
Mykola Pyskir
Andrew Stanco

Performance

Collection

Karen Wiseman,
Librarian

Upcoming Ticketed Performances

Kurt Weill’s Street Scene

U of T Opera’s Fall Main Stage Production
Thu Nov 22, Fri Nov 23 and Sat Nov 24 at 7:30 pm
Sun Nov 25 at 2:30 pm
MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen’s Park

A Child’s Prayer

Choristers from the Schola Cantorum & Theatre of Early

Music

Sat Nov 24 at 5 pm

Trinity College Chapel, 6 Hoskin Avenue

For the Joy of the Singing

U of T Choirs

Tribute to Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt
Sun Dec 2 at 2:30 pm
MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen’s Park

U of T Symphony Orchestra

with Gena van Oosten, mezzo soprano
and Julia Mirzoev, violin
Fri Dec 7 at 7:30 pm
MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen’s Park

Tickets and information: music.utoronto.ca I 416-408-0208

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